36. Epilogue
Epilogue
Hugo
R enee nudged me. “Worrywart, knock it off.”
“How are you not…” I flailed my arm, encompassing the sight before me.
Two babies, their father, my fiancé, and a massive Samoyed playing on the floor.
Scarlett kept trying to grab the dog’s fur.
Matthew had decided the pup’s furry belly made a nice pillow.
Copeland was supposedly supervising. In fact, he was scrolling on his phone and periodically showing Axel more baby photos. As if having the two creatures right before him wasn’t enough.
And Axel—my dearest— was untangling grubby, grabby fingers.
Midnight, oddly named for a shaggy white-furred dog, licked Scarlett’s hand.
The little girl giggled.
Renee snorted. “You were the one who adopted the dog. And I’ll mention—again—that she’s six and from a family with three children.”
And there’d never been an incident with any of said children, but that didn’t alleviate my stress. The family would still have their beloved pet except the wife’s father died and, after extensive discussions, the family welcomed grandma to their home.
Who happened to be deathly allergic to dogs.
The children had been torn—gain grandma and lose Midnight.
I’d been repeatedly thanked because the family were so happy Midnight had found a loving home. The whole two daddies thing didn’t faze any of them. I’d offered to let them visit, but the trainer we’d hired suggested that might confuse the dog.
We sent photos.
Now, seven weeks later, in the thick of Christmas, things were settling.
Midnight loved her new home.
Axel, who had sold his condo, bought half my house, and moved in mere weeks after returning from Black Rock, smiled all the fucking time. He occasionally had moments where he appeared disconcerted. That was understandable, given Ed had been close at hand for all those years. Still, cell phones were a thing, and I was quite certain Axel had sent thousands of photos to Ed and Thornton already. Our house. Our yard during the first snow. Our dog. Our dog during the first snow.
Our couch was covered in hair. Keeping up with her leavings was a full-time job. She’d also keep me company during the long time the band would be touring the country this winter.
Renee elbowed me. “We’re watching her during March break. Remember? So you can go meet up with your hottie in Toronto for the big concert?”
Massey Hall. Sold out. Nowhere near Toronto’s biggest venues in size—but certainly their most prestigious.
“Yeah.” I wrinkled my nose as Scarlett wiped her snotty hand in Midnight’s ruff. Extra brushing tonight . “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Sheesh, Hugo.” She nudged me again. “We can’t handle a dog all the time, but we want one. This is perfect. She visits and then she leaves.” My best friend grinned. “You don’t want kids, but you like spending time with them. You come over to babysit. Seems perfect to me.”
The offer for me to babysit stood, but it’d taken Copeland several months before he’d been able to leave the babies entirely alone with me. Not that he didn’t trust me…well, sort of. The diaper disaster of November 2024 loomed large every time I offered to change Matthew.
Some people really needed to develop selective amnesia. Or learn to overlook minor catastrophes. No infants were injured. The couch…yeah, that was a different story. A smile stretched my face.
“Am I allowed to be this happy?”
Renee stared. “Of course. You’re a good person—although even bad people deserve moments of grace. Look at what you do for your students every day…”
More money had come our way. For all the arts programs in the school. I was peeved it’d taken me dating a celebrity to get us funding, but it was what it was. Axel, interviewed by Geneva’s rival—much to her annoyance, but also with her blessing—pointed out all schools needed funding for the arts. That no matter what some politicians thought, arts were incredibly beneficial to children of all ages.
I was so fucking proud of him.
And many of the schools in the region received additional funding.
Blowing out a breath, I tried to find the right words. “I had everything, growing up—”
“Except love.” Renee always filled in that bit quickly.
“Well…I had Leonora.” I blinked. “My parents weren’t cruel.”
“Indifference is a form of cruelty.”
“They never raised a finger to me.”
Axel gently stoked Scarlett’s downy hair as she pointed to Midnight, with her faced screwed up in a still-toothless grin as if the dog was the most amazing thing ever.
Frankly, the pooch might just have been.
“You want some eggnog?” Renee nudged me. “I’m spiking mine with rum. I know you won’t.”
Not a drop of booze in over a year. I wouldn’t risk it with Axel. Being able to kiss him without worrying if I had liquor on my breath was way more important than any potential buzz I might enjoy.
“I love eggnog.”
“That’s disgusting.” Axel wrinkled his nose.
“Would you like a cola?” Renee grinned. She knew him well. As much as I was trying to get him to drink less of the stuff, he still mainlined it.
Only a slightly bad habit. Certainly nothing in the grand scheme of things.
“I’ll take an eggnog.” Cope grinned. He’d put his phone away. After taking about fifteen photos of the twins with Midnight.
Some things would never change.
And that warmed my heart.
Renee and I moved into the kitchen. As I got down the four glasses, she pulled a carton of eggnog and a can of Axel’s favorite soda from the fridge. I loved that she kept a stash for Axel. For me. To ensure we knew we’d always be welcome. And since their Victorian was way bigger than our post-war bungalow, we spent a fair amount of time here.
I’d never been happier.
“Are you seeing your parents over Christmas?” Renee poured the three glasses of creamy eggnog goodness.
I took advantage of her preoccupation with preparing the drinks to center myself before answering. “Leonora and the kids are here. Her husband had to stay in Greece…which maybe isn’t a bad thing. A slow introduction to the children first, right?” I accepted the glass she handed me. “I think the thawing might be a permanent thing.” I glanced toward the living room. “My parents are not exactly happy about my upcoming marriage, but the fact we told them in person meant something.”
“Most undramatic proposal ever.”
I laughed. “Hey. I gave him a ring the morning after he moved in. I feel like that was very romantic. Homemade French toast, crispy bacon, fresh orange juice, and a ring.”
“Did you squeeze the orange juice yourself?” She knew the answer to that question.
“What’s your point?”
“That you’re going to be incredibly happy. Oh, speaking of happy…” She nabbed a couple of ice cubes and added them to the soda she’d poured. She handed me Axel’s drink, then picked up hers and Cope’s.
“Incredibly happy…?” God, sometimes she needed to work on her timing.
“Have you heard Razor Made?”
“Weren’t they on the radio the other day?” My nose itched, but I’d manage until I gave Axel his drink.
Renee and I moved into the living room.
“Geneva did a profile for them. The lead singer was arrested at an environmental protest last year. He chained himself to the Lion’s Gate Bridge.”
Axel grinned as I handed him the glass of soda. “Malik, right? That kid’s got pipes.”
“Kid?” I squinted. “Isn’t he twenty-seven?”
“Yeah.”
“And aren’t you twenty-nine?”
“Yeah.”
Renee and Cope both laughed.
“I heard they sent an audition off to the Rocktoberfest organizers.” Renee sipped her eggnog.
Axel cocked his head. “How’d you hear that?”
“I’m friends with the drummer’s mother. Lovely woman.”
“The drummer or the mother?” I’d be googling the band when I got home.
Renee laughed. “The drummer’s a nice boy. His mother’s a lovely woman.”
“Ah.”
Axel pointed at me. “We should see if Thornton and his crew want to record them. Do another documentary.”
I glanced uneasily between Renee and Cope. “Uh, Thornton’s debuting his documentary about homelessness on the West Coast.”
“Right…so he needs a new project.”
“I’m not certain what his angle would be. Or if they’d want him to find it.”
Axel held my gaze, then winced. “Good point.”
I doubted the band had a skeleton in their closet. Or a young woman in their past who’d died of a drug overdose. But no one was squeaky clean.
“Well, if Geneva’s done a profile, then they’re on Pauletta’s radar.” Axel grinned. “I think we’re going back to Rocktoberfest. Although it’ll be interesting with Big Mac and Meg having a newborn.”
Renee blinked. “Yeah, we love you two, but we never considered taking these babies down to Black Rock. Even if we’d had a camper.”
“We’ll have to hire a live-in babysitter.” Axel grinned. “This might be fun.”
I saluted him with my eggnog. “If anyone can make it work, it’d be Grindstone.”
He winked. Then his gaze swept the room. His smile brightened. “You know, even without Ed, this is the best Christmas ever.”
I’d worried how he’d cope without his best friend. Ed and Thornton were enjoying a visit with Thornton’s parents in Portland after the wedding ceremony. Then the newlyweds were headed to Europe so they could spend New Year’s Eve by the Eiffel Tower.
Not my cup of tea. No, I had everything I wanted right here.
I wrapped my arm around Renee’s shoulder.
She leaned into me.
Cope and Axel clinked drinks.
Truly, the best Christmas ever.
And, I believed, the beginning of a great life filled with love, friends, and true happiness. With the man I loved by my side, I believed I could do anything.
So could he.
Together. Forever.